Mobile codes are rapidly gaining in popularity as a useful application for wireless technology. Mobile codes may be coded into a printed barcode or a two dimensional barcode, which can be scanned by a camera-equipped handset or other scanning device. The scanning device uses the information contained within a mobile code to obtain a network address of a network entity, such a server on the Internet, that retrieves information associated with the mobile code. Upon retrieving the information, the network entity forwards the information to the scanning device. Such a mobile code is frequently referred to as a direct mobile code because the mobile code contains that network address of the entity that will return the information to the scanning device.
An indirect mobile code is a mobile code that does not point directly to a network address, but rather contains information that will lead to a Code Resolution Server (CRS). An indirect mobile code typically contains two parts: an identification code that is specific to the particular item being scanned, and a routing prefix that points to a CRS responsible for resolving the identification code. A mobile device scans an indirect mobile code and forwards the indirect mobile code to a Code Clearing House (CHC). The CHC determines the CRS associated with the routing prefix contained in the indirect mobile code and forwards the identification code in the indirect mobile code to the associated CRS for processing.